CDNOW - warning review while green day has been typecast as a punk rock band (green hair will do that to a group), it's actually much closer to an unadorned power pop band. its songs are quick, catchy, heavy on melody, and suited to harmony. the band never strays into elaborate concepts or ill-defined self-importance. singer billie joe armstrong keeps a sense of humor about himself at all times, and while his slightly british accent is a bizarre affectation (though british music fans have likely considered their bands' american accents to be just as odd), it never seems more than a homage to the clash. green day has never managed to move beyond harmless pop. none of punk's rage -- whether actual or imagined -- stirs within it. this allows armstrong, the songwriter, to turn it up a notch, but this adherence to bright, accessible sounds also threatens to turn green day into the sort of band that would fit nicely on a dawson's creek soundtrack. even so, armstrong shows an impressive knowledge of rock history, quoting petula clarks's "downtown" in the melody of "waiting" and sandwiching the kinks' "a well respected man" riff alongside the who's "my generation" power chords for "jackass." the creep-show organ of "misery" is a nice touch, while the folkie harmonica riff of "hold on" adds a nice garage rock tone. but, as the three-chord rock of "church on sunday" and "deadbeat" indicate, green day is best when it simply lets itself fly. rob o'connor